Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-03-18
State AFFAIRS.
Continued from First Page

the support IF the public schools.
The G9IW bed amendment was then
voted down Og q large ma OritY.
The bill was taken up again at the
evening session and the consideration
was confined principally to amendments
relative to classification and prices. Mr..
Jones of Pauo!a offered an amendment
to strike out the clause that set the
venue of the cases in Travis county, upon
the ground that it Was sn outrage TO drag
q man out of his county to a distant
county to be tried. The vote on this
amendment was tie, the Speaker cast
ing the deciding vote against the amend
ment.
THE HOUSE EDUCATIONAL COMMITTEE.
The bill introduced by Mr.. Nc
Gaughey, to place the University, the
agricultural and mechanical, medical and
ColOred branches, under one board Of
regents and to PARTITION the forfeited
Texas and Pacific land grants to the funds
set aside for their support, csrnenp for,
consideration in the committee room to-
night. Mr.. Page, the chg5rman, Mr..
McGaughey and Mr.. Baird spoke in favor
of the bill, and Mr.. McGaughey especially
urged that the committee order the bill
to be printed and let it takeits chances
before the House upon it's merits.
Mr.. Humphreys of Wise madeSe mo-
ton to have $50 copies of the bill printed,
and report it back TO the House with the
recommendation that it do pass.
BafOre taking q vote on the motion an
amendment was offered by Mr.. Nc
Gaughey to divide the board Of regents
into four classes, to be appointed for two,
four, six and eight years.
Mr.. Jarrett offered an amendment to
Mr.. McGaughey's amendment to divide
the board into three instead OF four
classes. This was adopted.
The motion to report the bill faYorably
snd have 80 copies printed was adopted,
and the bill will be reported tomorrow.
THE VISITING COMMITTEE.
The joint visiting committee, composed
of Senators Woods and Glasscock and
Mesrs. Fuller, Booth and Voorhees,, re-
turned from their visit TO the Agricultural
and Mechanical and the CO4Ored normal
schools this evening, and were making up
their report this evening preparatory to
reporting tomorrow.
THE sUPERINTENDENCY BILL
superintendent Cooper has received q
letter from the County Judge of Raines
county relative to the opposition OF the
county judges 10 the CrestIOn Of the office
of county superintendent of the public
schools, stating that the reason for the
opposition was because of the meager
salaries paid the county judges; that they
were all willing TO be relieved of the duty
of uperinteGding the schools, but could
not afford TO lose the remuneration re-
Ceived from that source.
WHY THE LKASE LAW IS UNCOSSTITU-
TIONAL.
During hisi argument yesterdaYin sup
port of Mr.. GarWOod's amendment to
strike out the lease law clause of the
Senate substitute land bill, snd to repeal
the lease law Of 1888, Mr.. Johnson of
Smith presented the following reasons
why the lease law was unconstitutional:
!. That article I, section 4, of the con-
stitutiOn requires the common school
fund to be sold; section of
the same article requires the
asylum lands to be sold.
Also section u Of the same article re-
quires the University lands to be sold.
Ia every instance where the constitution
refers to these lands the language is posi-
tive that the Glands shall be sold" Taking
this as major premise, he argued that
the constitution having said that these
lands shall be sold, the Legislature has
no power TO lease or otherwise dispose OF
them than by sale, being the only dis
position OF the lands recognized by the
constitution.
In support OF this proposition he read
from the case of Holly vs.. the State
in the Il Court of APP
pesls, page 5O5, in which
the court rpstruing the constitution Of
the state of Texas held, chat being q
simple chart containing Limitations upon
power, that wherever the constitution de
ClaTes Row power may be exercised over
any subject, N any manner not Clearly
within the plaiu import of the language
of The constitution, mere silence or
failure to provide for some positive
feature Of the subject cannot be con-
strued into q neglect or omission,
or any ignoring of that feature.
AS has been seen, had there
been no constitutional action, then the
Legislature by virtue of its inherent pow
er, could have passed law prohibiting
all the different character of uses and dis
positions OF intoxicating liquors inClud-
Ing gift Of the same. 1t is said that the
constitution contains no provisions rela-
tive to the gift, and IN so far as that is
COuCSIutH INC Legislature SILL COuLaluS
its inherent power, and can pass without
reference TO it by virtue Of this absolute
absence of power. We do not think SO"
This being a decision in point, and
taken In connection with the history of
cur constitu ion as taken from the
journal of the proceedings of the C0nven-
ton, plainly develops the intention of the
trainers and the people who ratified it
at the polls to be, 10 exclude the idea Of
the leasing OF the lands and to grant the
Legislature no suCh power.
=. During the session of the convention
on September II, 1878 the following
resolution was introduced: "That the
lands heretofore set aside for school
purposes shall remain perpetual school
fund, and shall be leased or otherwise
disposed OF es may be provided for by
law, buJ the tile shall never pass from
the state" journal Of the constitutional
page "a Two days after
ward MIR. Ward offered the following:
"The lands heretofore set apar: for school
purposes be utilized under a proper sYs-
lem Of leasing, ETC." Journal, |
page 70. The next day Mr.. Davis
presented this proposition: "And
It shall be the duty of the Leg
islst.Ta to take proper measures for the